Category Customer Centric

“Greenbacks” more valuable than green products – Few will pay extra for green products

According to Nielsen’s 2011 Global Online Environment & Sustainability Survey, while 83% of consumers around the world say it is important that companies implement programs to improve the environment, only 22% say they will pay more for an eco-friendly product.
Global Online Consumers
Position % of Respondents
Important for companies to have environmental products 83%
Raw materials influence decisions on where to shop and what to buy 76%
Will pay more for eco-friendly products 22%
Source: Nielsen, Global Online Survey, Q1 2011

Willingness to pay extra for environmentally-friendly goods is highest in the Middle East/Africa, where one-third of consumers are willing and lowest in North America, where only 12% of both Canadians and Americans say they will pay extra for eco-friendly products.

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Motorola Solutions annual holiday survey indicates Consumers know more than Retail Sales Associates

The latest installment of the Motorola Solutions annual holiday study indicates that the majority of surveyed retail associates believe that shoppers were better connected to consumer information than in-store associates, driven by increasing availability of online shopping tools and mobile phone applications that allow price comparisons, access to coupons and social-networking.

The survey found that retailers that aren’t investing in technology to stay ahead of increasingly tech-savvy shoppers are hurting their own bottom line. 28% of store visits ended with an average of $132 unspent due to abandoned purchases driven by deal-habituated behavior, out-of-stocks, limited store associate assistance and long check-out processes.

Product Awareness “The shopper today is better connected to product information than store associates… “ (% of Retailers)
Response % of Retailer Responses
Completely agree 17%
Somewhat agree 38
Neither agree nor disagree 26
Somewhat disagree 15
Completely disagree 4
Source: Motorola Solutions, January 2011

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Consumers Plan to Spend More, Save Less, and Pay Debts

According to the latest American Express Spending & Saving Tracker, more than half of adults are planning to spend more (14%) or the same (40%) in 2011 than they did last year, with the majority of that spending focused on themselves. Personal savings rates are still well above pre-recession levels and consumers will remain focused on saving, but they will set aside less than they did in 2010. After setting aggressive savings goals for 2010, $14,000 on average, consumers are paring back their savings target this year to a more modest $2,600.

Pamela Codispoti, senior vice present and general manager of Cardmember Services, American Express, says “… it’s encouraging to see that (consumers) feel more optimistic about their finances… they’re setting more realistic savings goals and… gained some financial breathing room to spend a bit more than in 2010.”

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Customer Service Is Crucial To Repeat Business and Profitability

 According to the American Express Global Customer Service Barometer, 61% of Americans report that quality customer service is more important to them in today’s economic environment, and will spend an average of 9% more when they believe a company provides excellent service.

However, only 37% of Americans believe that companies have increased their focus on providing quality service:

* 27% feel businesses have not changed their attitude toward customer service.
* 28% say that companies are now paying less attention to good service.

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Improving Customer Loyalty Tops Social Media Budgets

According to national survey results jointly released by COLLOQUY and the Direct Marketing Association, U.S. companies that use social media primarily to deepen customer loyalty spend almost twice as much on this emerging channel as competitors who use it for brand awareness, customer acquisition and other core marketing purposes.

Specifically, the survey results show the average social media spend for marketers whose primary objective is to obtain customer loyalty was $88,000 last year, compared to $53,000 for brand awareness and $30,000 for customer acquisition, the objectives that attracted the next highest spending levels.

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